Thursday, 4 August 2011

Review - Weird Science ( 1985 - Dir. John Hughes)

One of my favourite films from my teen years, but how does it hold up today? Fortunately, I was surprised at how much it still makes me laugh.

It is the perfect teenage boy fantasy, "Let's make a girl on the computer", which Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) actually manage to pull off with 1985 computer technology. Not bad nipper. The lady in question turns out to look suspiciously like Kelly LeBrock.

It is a very quotable film: 'Stop hitting people with your Rex Harrison Hat' (Lisa), 'How 'bout a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray' (Chet), 'Well, my nuts are halfway up my ass, but other than that, I'm perfect' (Gary in a Cartman voice) and on and on it goes.

Out of the actors in the film some have gone on to greater things: Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), The legendary Bill Paxton (Aliens, Titanic) and Anthony Michael Hall (The Dark Knight, The Dead Zone TV Series). But what happened to Ilan Mitchell-Smith? I've never seen him again in anything, but after a bit of research it seems he has managed to get himself some work. And not just in McDonalds. He was supposedly in The Chocolate War (1988) and Superboy (1988 TV series). Mmm, very prestigious. Still can't help liking him in Weird Science though. He needs to make a comeback.

Looking back at the film now, there is some serious 80s cheese involved, especially at the end. Also, the fashions on show seriously date it. It is a fairly gentle comedy that doesn't exactly push the taste boundaries. Probably the riskiest scene is when Gary's mum finds out what he gets up to in the toilet. And it's not doing his hair as he claims. But with the quality dialogue and so many funny supporting characters: Wyatt's grandparents, an appearance by Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) and Gary's dad in particular, the problems pale into insignificance. I'll actually leave you with a Gary's dad quote: 'Who is this Gary character?'8/10evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Wargames.